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00:00Every year, the Kentucky Derby seems to have one or two blue-collar underdog stories.
00:07And this year, one of those horses is Two Phils.
00:09The Jeff Ruby Stakes winner represents Owner Trainer Connections, who are all from Chicago
00:14and are looking forward to their first Kentucky Derby.
00:17Two Phils and our team got here Sunday night, kept them home as long as they could and had
00:23no issues with him because he ran on this track before and won on it.
00:25So I was confident that he liked the track and we had to be here by today at noon, so
00:31we were.
00:33Phil Sagan is the breeder and Jerry LaSalla, who is a Chicago jockey, retired to ride for
00:40me, coincidentally, a lot, when I first started training.
00:45And Jerry's dad, his name is Phil, and those two are best buddies.
00:50They talk all the time, so that's how they got Two Phils.
00:54Earliest memory was the first day that I got him, or second day I got him, he, from
01:0010.30 to 11.30, we know this now, but he sleeps, he loves, I mean, he just doesn't matter what's
01:05going on.
01:06It could be a circus in town and he just loves to sleep, which is a great quality to have
01:11on a horse.
01:12And then when he got on the track and trained good, I put him in company in some workouts
01:17with some other horses that I had that were pretty good, kept up right, kept right up
01:21with him, put a couple of them away, that's when I knew that a horse was going to be a
01:25little bit better than an average horse.
01:28His Jeff Ruby race was the most impressive race so far to me, by far.
01:33Aesthetic track, may have played a part in it, as far as having an affinity to run on
01:38that track versus dirt, that's the unknown.
01:41If he can emulate that race here, I think he'll win, but we'll find out.
01:48The Foglia's are like family to me, Vinny's, we're real close.
01:52His mother Patricia and his father Vince are fantastic people, I mean, really a great relationship
01:59to actually do something with a friend and it's like, I'm happier for him than I am for
02:03me, you know what I mean?
02:04And I think vice versa, they're the same way, so great people and just fortunate to be,
02:09you know, part of their lives.
02:10Everybody's Chicago, it's all Chicago.
02:13War Emblem was the last horse in Chicago to run in the Derby and win, actually.
02:17That's as far as I can remember, we've been on a zillion podcasts from guys from Chicago
02:22and a lot of articles and stuff, so hopefully we can represent well, I think we will.
02:28Everyone's great back home, all my peers and friends and owners and trainers are just sending
02:34me texts, we're behind you, Riv, go on with it, get the money.
02:38Not nervous.
02:39I, you know, it's like I was explaining to somebody, I don't feel any pressure because
02:43everyone's just, we're happy that we made it, it is what it is, what are we gonna do?
02:47It's a horse race, it's a game, it's fun, it's something that we, you know, have a passion
02:52for, my livelihood, and when you train for good people that are just happy to be part
02:59of it, there's really no pressure, which makes it easier for me.
03:02I'm gonna enjoy the ride and everybody's gonna, believe me, and if we win, we're gonna tear
03:07the town down.